The Thunder & The Sunshine
by Lucky love12
Summary: Where Shepard and Ashley Williams began, from children, to kids, to teens, to adults. Will their friendship blossum into something more? Or will destiny tear them apart?
1. Chapter 1

"A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out."

* * *

><p><em>Ethan Shepard &amp; Ashley Williams - Age 4<em>

"Ethan no no." Hannah Shepard cooed patiently, her hands gently prying her cell phone from his hand, replacing the electronic with his favorite toy space ship before the child could utter a single word. Ethan made loud wooshing noises as he swayed the bright blue and red space ship with his hand, spiraling it madly. Hannah ran a loving hand through his short yet silky smooth black hair before standing and walking to the bedroom to get changed.

Ethan noticing his mothers disappearance grasped the edges of the living room table, the metal edging cold but surprisingly calming. Ethan pulled himself up and stepped over to the end table next to the television, his eyes lingering on the single drawer that had been inviting him to open it for as long as he could remember. The little boy licked his lips before gripping the metal handle on the drawer, beginning to slowly pull it open.

"Ethan!" The boy gasped then giggled insanely as his mother picked him up and began tickling the sides of his stomach, the boy squealing in her arms for escape.

"Mommy!" Ethan giggled harder then smiled happily as Hannah set him gently back down on the floor. "Ready to go to the park?"

Ethan nodded with a grin of pure delight.

* * *

><p>Ethan Shepard was the proud child of Hannah and Steve Shepard, a creation that they were blessed with everyday. Hannah Singer and Steve Shepard first met at Grissom academy, they were both extremely intelligent and had been told that they were gifted at an early age. Hannah excelled as a amazing musician, learning to play the violin at an early age of three and mastering all the instruments from flute, harp, and everything she could get her hands on at twelve. Steve on the other hand was a brilliant mathematical prodigy, his young brain easy solving math problems that would leave college students stumped for days. They met when there was a Grissom Academy dance, a slow song bringing the two teenagers together but love found them and they hadn't parted since.<p>

Something you should know about Hannah Shepard is that she was told that she would never be able to give birth to a child. Both Steve and herself felt remarkably upset but never stopped trying. They knew that they could get the prosedure of artificial insemination or perhaps adoption, but yet, they didn't.

After two years Hannah finally gave birth to a beautiful baby boy named Ethan Alden Shepard. Hannah cried with joy as they held their newborn son, a confused but dazzling set of dark blue eyes staring back at them and a tiny but strong hand gripping his fathers index finger.

Something that was always important to Steve Shepard was that his son would never have to do without, and if it mean't him working his entire life, he eagerly would. Steve worked at a space station, deep within the Hades Gamma Cluster. They saw him one every few weeks but as often as possible through Vid-Mails. Hannah Shepard was currently unemployed, looking after Ethan continussely and giving him the attention he craved. Ethan was surprising for both parents, he wasn't like most children. Ethan barely ever cried, when he was learning how to take his first steps he would take a step then fall but with a sense of determination he climbed back up and continued. Hannah knew that her son got that from Steve, he was spilling with strength and determination, never letting anyone fall without being there to pick them up.

It was now Hannah's mission to take Ethan to the park, not very difficult but a mission none the less. Her son was undeniably curious, his bright eyes always finding something to grasp and his lips asked hundreds of questions.

"Mommy, do they have slides at the park?" Ethan asked, his hand being carefully held by his mothers as they walked down the sidewalk, the sun bright and sky clear blue with a few light clouds.

"Yes they do, and maybe some swings." Hannah smiled as she saw the excitement on her sons face grow. They had recently moved to a new city, it was the perfect place to live, high quality homes, quiet kind people, and most importantly, a safe living for the family.

"Do they have a sandbox?" Ethan asked after a moment. "Oooh do that have a rope ladder?"

Hannah made a soft laugh, her songs curiosity peeking even more then normal. "Maybe, you will have to wait and see sweetie."

As the park quickly approached and Ethan began to slide his hand from his mothers Hannah gently gripped the shoulders of his blue collared t shirt as she kneeled down. "Ethan honey, remember to be careful, if anyone approaches you-"

"Scream and run to you." Ethan finished with a wide smile and Hannah nodded proudly before giving her son a quick kiss on the forehead, patting his back and standing up. "Go play."

Ethan grinned as he turned and eagerly ran to the playground, a number of kids were playing as well, kids with fingers deep within their nostrils as they slid down the slide or throwing rocks and getting scowled by tired mothers. Ethan saw an empty swing, slowly swaying in the air and almost begging for him to sit upon. The eager boy ran towards the swing, about to plant his rump upon the seat but felt himself confront gravel instead. "Thats my swing."

Ethan looked up, the sun blocking out the view and he squinted, seeing the unmistakable frown of a large burly boy, a stained white and red striped shirt with a pair of jeans covering him. This began the encounter with Ethan Shepard's 'first' bully.

"B-But I was there first." Ethan tried to explain but was silenced as the large child stepped over him, blonds curls covering green eyes, turned red by the sun.

"I thought about it before you did." The boy sat down on the swing and Ethan stood up angrily, his small hands tightened into fists.

"That's not fair."

The large child had begun pumping his chubby legs but came to an abrupt stop as he heard Ethan. "What?" The boy got off the swing and approached Ethan, making the weary boy step back.

"I was there first."

The boy glared with anger and raised his fist. Ethan quickly closed his eyes but didn't feel anything. The boy opened his eyes and felt them widen in surprise as he saw what was before him. The large boy lay on the ground, sniffling and holding his knee, a large cry erupted from him. Something else, or someone else in this case caught the boys eyes. A little girl, around his age stood above him, her arms crossed in dominance.

"Play nice meany" The little girl switched her attention to Ethan but she walked back to her own swing.

Ethan blinked a few times before walking towards the little girl on the swing, her legs pumping as she swung herself back and forth, her long black braid rising and falling behind her.

"Hi I'm Ethan."

"..." The little girl continued to swing, glancing at Ethan but not replying back.

"You must be real strong. Like superman."

The girl turned her head, her chocolate brown eyes showing annoyance.

"Are you a girl?"

The girl stopped pumping and her little running shoes dragged across the ground beneath her, causing her swinging to come to an immediate stop. Ethan saw a flash of a black hair before feeling a reconnection of soft ground beneath him. The little girl had pushed him. "What did I do?" Ethan grumbled as he sat up, seeing the girl staring at him.

"Don't call me a girl." She stuck out her tongue before turning and running to the bright yellow slide, leaving a confused but oddly curious Ethan Shepard.

* * *

><p><em>AN - This is my first Mass Effect Fanfic, I am hoping to have it a evolution of Shepard and Ashley Williams. Originally they are four years apart in age but I thought then being the same age would be a cute story. I apologize if what I write doesn't match Mass Effect facts and i also want to say that future chapters will be a lot longer. I hope any readers enjoyed the story and do you think I should continue? Have a good one :) _

_-Ashley_


	2. Chapter 2

"Sometimes you pick your friends, sometimes they pick you."

_Ethan Shepard & Ashley Williams – Age 8  
><em>

_(History Class)_

"Now children, Mindoir was founded in…"

"2143." All the children in the room said in an almost trance like state, each child sat up straight in their chairs, hands folded together overtop of their desks. Although, in the back of the classroom two students were whispering in hushed voices.

"Very good. Here is a good one for you, what is Mindoir famous for?"

A flood of hands raised yet the teacher sighed and stepped down the rows of students until she came to the intrusive students.

"Something you would like to share with the rest of the class?" Mrs. Perry asked as guilty heads raised.

"No ma'am." Ethan apologized quickly with a polite smile but Ashley grinned to herself, her black bangs covering her laughing eyes. "Then perhaps you would like to explain what Mindoir is famous for?"

"Mindoir is famous for being a… Agricultural colony, known as the fruit by many other worlds." Ethan replied to his teacher confidently, the eyebrow of his pretty teacher raising but she then nodded with satisfaction before turning and stepping back to the front of the class.

Ethan let out a breath of worried air as soon as she turned her back, his shoulders sagging with relief.

"Would you like to share anything with the rest of the class?" Ashley mimicked quietly.

Ethan turned his head, sending a glare at the smiling face of Ashley Williams before returning his gaze back to his teacher, making an effort to concentrate on the lesson.

Only a moment later a launch of three loud beeps interrupted the teacher, announcing that it was time for lunch. The children slid out of their seats and hurried to the back of their classroom, grabbing their small paper bagged lunches and heading into the cafeteria.

Despite all of the students walking down the hallway and to the overcrowded area Ethan and Ashley flashed each other a knowing smile as they ducked out of the crowd of students and down the hallway of the school, heading in a different direction. With their lunches tucked under their arms they crept down the hallway, ears and eyes wakened to hear even the simplest of noise. They dodged past two classrooms, only another classroom and a short way to reaching their destination.

Ethan stepped past the last classroom before he felt a hand grab his arm tightly and pull him back. The young boy was about to protest before a pint sized hand covered his mouth and brown eyes gave a quick glare.

Ashley slid her hand from Ethan's mouth and ever so slowly turned her eyes to the inside of the classroom, recognizing one of the 7th grade teachers, Mr. Burgess, a stern English teacher who was currently grading essays, cursing under his breath as he read each sentence. Ashley bit on her lip in concentration as she very quickly walked past the door, the teachers eyes not rising from the papers.

"Come on." Ashley mouthed to Ethan and Ethan peered into the room, watching as Mr. Burgess took a large swallow of black coffee before continuing to read. Ethan nodded and closed his eyes nervously as he walked past the classroom. He opened his eyes, seeing he was on the other side and smiled victoriously. "YES!"

Ethan's eyes widened as he realized how loud he was and Ashley grabbed his hand with her own, pulling him down the hallway before the angry English teacher could rise out of his seat.

They finally made it to the door of the school, pushing them open and running down the pathway and towards the forrest that lay gloriously behind the school. Ethan stepped over fallen tree branches and roots, finally starting to breath as they sat down against a wood log, their favourite spot.

Ethan began to dig into his lunch, pulling out a wrapped turkey sandwich, a small thermos of orange juice, a high protein vitamin bar, and finally an shining granny smith apple.

"What do you have?" Ethan asked Ashley, watching her spill the contents of her own blue lunchbox over her lap.

"Your favourite, PB and J." Ashley handed Ethan the sandwich and Ethan gave her his turkey sandwich. He was never allowed peanut butter and jelly because his cousin Eli was allergic, it was a treat whenever Ashley would give her his own, which these days were often.

"One day we are going to get in trouble for going outside." Ethan told Ashley, unwrapping his sandwich carefully and then taking a big bite, his eyes closing from the buttery taste of the peanut butter mixed with the sweetness of the jelly.

"Nuh uh." Ashley had taken several bites out of her own sandwich and swallowed greedily "Teachers are buttheads."

The little girl reached a hand into her bag, rummaging through it until she huffed angrily. "My mum didn't pack me anything to drink."

Ethan had just taken a drink of his own juice but reached it out towards Ashley. "You can some mine." He offered and Ashley made a face of disgust. "Ewww, no. Boys have cooties."

Ethan looked at Ashley before crossing his arms and looking away.

"Sorry." Ashley apologized but Ethan suddenly felt something cold and wet dribble down his hair and over his face, already beginning to soak deep into his white tee shirt.

A moment there he heard soft giggling and looked up, seeing Ashley holding the thermos, but dropped it and began running away as Ethan stood up, her giggling growing hysterical.

"Get back here!" Ethan threw the other half of his sandwich towards her as he began the chase.

* * *

><p><em>Later that day...<em>

Ethan stepped off the bottom step of the school bus, his feet making connection to the hard earth beneath him and he ran up the dirt road, his gaze on the house in front of him. He took a quick moment to look back and wave to Ashley who was sitting at the end of the bus before continuing to run forward. Things had changed dramatically in Ethan Shepard's life, he no longer lived in the city but on a farm.

Ethan's father had quit his job at the citadel when Ethan was five, he wanted to be there to be apart of Ethan's life and be there for his wife aswell, not wanting a life that he couldn't enjoy. With the money that they had saved they purchased an affordable farm, able to grow a range of different crops including corn, wheat, and potatoes. The work was hard and exceeding strenues but Ethan's father loved it and they could be together.

The young boy had been excited to say the least, they no longer had a small apartment but a large farm with a big comfortable house, a barn, lots of trees and a tire swing that swung back and fourth in the wind. One of the best things was that Ethan went to the same school as Ashley Williams, after their first introduction their mothers decided to get each others numbers and set up small playdates, where it usaully ended with Ethan getting pushed to the ground. Eventually they grew to become close friends, together all the time at school and even getting their parents to take them out for ice cream together.

* * *

><p>"Dad!" Ethan yelled happily as he ran into the house, bumping directly into a body that didn't belong to his father. What stood before him was not near human, with four eyes, a green face with pale facial ridges, and a sneer now looking down at Shepard.<p>

"Another fleshy creature." His mouth opened, exposing a row of sharp teeth.

Ethan stepped back and felt a hand drop over him shoulder giving him a reassuring squeeze. Ethan turned seeing his father with a scowl across his face.

"I hope you reconsider our offer Mr. Shepard." The stranger pushed back his coat, Ethan gulping as a gun became exposed, the batarian lightly fingered it before pulling out a piece of white paper from his pocket and handing it to Ethan's father.

"I won't be." Steve said, watching as the creature stared at him, his eyes narrowing at them before walking past Ethan and Steve and out of the house.

"Who was he daddy?" Ethan asked immedietely after the stranger had left.

Steve grasped his sons arm, gently leading him to their living room couch. "Son that was a batarian."

"Whats a batarian?"

"It's an alien, just like the asari you hear about at school except batarians are very aggressive and dangerous." Steve explained, his sons eyes widened.

"If you see a batarian here again I want you to run away, they won't bring anything good here."

The front door suddenly slid open, Steve standing up quickly but then sighed heavily as he saw Hannah walk in, carrying several bags of groceries along with a gracious smile.

"Hi boys." Hannah chirped with another smile and set the bags down on the dining room table before walking to Ethan and planting a big kiss on his forehead then her husbands lips.

"We need to talk about something." Steve whispered, taking her hand and leading his wife into the kitchen, leaving an unknowing Ethan.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - Wanted to apologize if my information doesn't match up with actual Mass Effect facts or history. I am trying to mesh everything as best as I can and make the story work as well. Next chapter will be better, Ethan Shepard and Ashley at 12, their first encounter with an asari that you know. Thanks for the reviews and helping me out with my little errors, your all fantastic :) **


End file.
